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McPherson daily brief

McPherson, Kansas and US news for busy people - Feb 3, 2026 edition

Greg Loving

03 Feb 2026 • 4 min read

Joshua Soden, 19, with his mother Deja House. A community fundraiser has raised over $14,000 to support House following her son's fatal shooting early Saturday morning in McPherson County, Kansas.

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McPherson

The Kansas Bureau of Investigation expects to present case findings to the McPherson County Attorney within 30 days regarding the Jan. 31 fatal shooting of 19-year-old Joshua Soden. An 18-year-old suspect remains uncharged and was released from custody as investigators await final autopsy results and continue witness interviews. →
A GoFundMe campaign has raised over $14,000 for the family of Joshua Soden →
McPherson County extended temporary bans on commercial battery storage, crypto mining data centers, and hydrogen facilities until late 2026 to ensure regulations are finalized. →
McPherson Unified School District 418 is holding community sessions in early February to provide details on a proposed March 3 bond plan for school infrastructure. →
Approximately 120 women attended 'The M Factor' film screening and a healthcare provider panel at the McPherson Opera House to foster open dialogue about menopause and women’s health. →
The PBS series 'See Taste Do' is scheduled to film an upcoming episode highlighting the local community of McPherson. →
Moundridge dropped to 13-2 on the season after a narrow 71-65 triple-overtime loss to Hesston in the Hillsboro Trojan Classic championship game. →
Expect a chilly but dry day in McPherson with partly cloudy skies, a high of 46°F, and light northwest winds.

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🌾Kansas

Property Tax Relief: Kansas House introduced three constitutional amendments to reduce residential property taxes through lower assessment rates (11.5% to 9%), frozen valuations, and requiring voter approval for new exemptions—all need two-thirds legislative approval and majority vote in November 2026.
Tax Relief Package: Legislators filed over a dozen bills targeting housing affordability, income tax credits, and education costs, including sales tax exemptions for affordable housing construction and expanded Earned Income Tax Credits.
Evergy Winter Revenue: Evergy exported more power than Kansas consumed during Winter Storm Fern, generating revenue from sales to other states that will lower future customer bills through fuel adjustment credits.
Renewable Energy Oversight: HB 2636 would require county commissioner approval and state permits for wind, solar, and battery projects, establishing setback requirements, decommissioning plans, and a protest petition process.
Fetal Personhood Amendment: House proposed a constitutional amendment defining life as beginning at conception in the Kansas Bill of Rights, similar to a measure voters rejected by 18 points in 2022.

🇺🇸 US

Google buys wind/solar developer Intersect for $4.75B to secure dedicated power for AI data centers as tech firms race to build capacity faster than the grid can support it.
Black and Latino enrollment dropped at top 50 universities but rose 8% at public flagships after the Supreme Court banned race-conscious admissions in 2023.
SpaceX acquired xAI for ~$250B, valuing the combined company at $1.25 trillion, merging Musk's rocket/satellite business with his AI startup competing against OpenAI.
Trump cut India tariffs from 50% to 18% after Prime Minister Modi agreed to stop purchasing Russian oil.
Xi Jinping purged nearly all ~30 top Chinese generals who led major commands since 2023, the most extensive military leadership purge in modern Chinese history.
Clintons agreed to Epstein probe depositions after months of refusal, facing bipartisan contempt vote that united Democrats and Republicans.

Weather

February 3 1966: Lunik 9 soft-lands on lunar surface

Lunik 9 was an unmanned Soviet spacecraft that became the first probe to achieve a controlled soft landing on the Moon and transmit photos from the Ocean of Storms back to Earth. Americans reacted with alarm and renewed urgency, seeing it as another Soviet lead in the Space Race and quickly pushing forward their own Surveyor landers and the Apollo program to reassert U.S. technological and prestige dominance.